Mississippi Overtakes Illinois Levee

June 17, 2008 — -- Another rain-swollen levee failed today along the Mississippi River, triggering a dramatic helicopter rescue near Gulfport, Ill.

More then a dozen people, who were sandbagging the levy just as it broke, had to be rescued, and scores more were evacuated nearby, including one man who clung to the roof of his car as the water rose around him, the Associated Press reported.

The breech threatened to swamp the small town of Gulfport and forced the closure of a bridge over the river, cutting off the town from Burlington, Iowa.

Henderson County Deputy Sheriff Donald Seitz said the highway leading to the bridge could be under 10 feet of water within 15 to 20 hours.

And still, the great Mississippi has not crested.

Officials fear that more than two dozen more levees downstream are at risk.

There is no way to predict whether these levees will break, Ron Fournier, a spokesman with the Army Corps of Engineers in Iowa, told the AP.

According to the "Significant River Flood Outlook" graphic released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, most of eastern Iowa, most of western Illinois and parts of northeastern Missouri are areas where flooding is "occurring or imminent."

Buffalo, Iowa resident Cindy Mendez knew that flooding in her town was imminent and decided to fight the best she could — by working for two days to barricade her mother's home against the floodwaters. But as Mendez learned, like the workers in Gulfport, sometimes the best effort is not enough.

"Finally we said we got to let it go. We can't keep fighting," Mendez said while trudging through her mother's house up to her knees in muddy water. "We gave up. Mother Nature wins."

Upstream, more residents in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines are returning to their homes as waters recede. Interstate 80 near Iowa City was reopened today.

For those communities that have been overcome by the flooding, the loss or damage of property is taking a backseat to a larger danger: contamination.